Nearly 150 low-income residents of Santa Barbara County will have new affordable housing in 18 months, and a public groundbreaking ceremony and lunch on Thursday celebrated the development Casas de las Flores by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing.

Casas de las Flores is a new 43-unit, affordable, multifamily apartment project that will be built at the site of the former Carpinteria Camper Park at 4096 Via Real in Carpinteria.

The new property will feature 43 two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes, a community education room, a youth learning center, offices, a tot lot playground, a half-court basketball court, walking paths green belt (bioswale) and laundry facilities for the approximately 150 low-income residents who will call Casas de las Flores home.

Peoples’ purchased the former Carpinteria Park 12 years ago. The park was home to nearly 80 households living in tiny cramped trailer trailers in blighted and neglected conditions. Over the years, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing was able to transition many of the families living there to its other affordable housing properties, including the nearby 33-unit Dahlia Court II, which opened in September 2013. Architects include CSA Architects and Peikert-RRM Group. PSHH is the nonprofit developer and contractor. The $15 million project is scheduled to be completed by fall 2015 and is expected to generate 160 jobs. Local subcontractors are used whenever possible.

The visionary funders and partners who have supported this project include the Santa Barbara Foundation, City of Carpinteria HOME funds, the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, County of Santa Barbara HOME funds, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, JP Morgan Chase, the National Equity Fund, NeighborWorks America and others.

In honor of the new affordable housing project, PSHH sponsored an “Adopt a Door” campaign, which will fund Casas’ after-school youth education program for one year. Doors are available to sponsor at $500 each (multiple doors may be sponsored); $250 donations are available to share a door.

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